Population growth in the United States has slowed significantly, with an increase of only 1.8 million, or 0.5%, between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, according to the new Vintage 2025 population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
New Jersey added 41,861 residents over the same period, putting the Garden State in the top 10 for numeric population growth. All four census regions and every state except Montana and West Virginia experienced growth slowing or their decline accelerating, according to a press release.
Record Slowdown
This was the nation’s slowest population growth since the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the population grew by a historically low 0.2% in 2021. The slowdown also comes after a sizeable uptick of growth in 2024, when the country added 3.2 million people and grew by 1.0%, the fastest annual population growth rate since 2006.
“The slowdown in U.S. population growth is largely due to a historic decline in net international migration, which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million in the period from July 2024 through June 2025,” said Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections at the Census Bureau. “With births and deaths remaining relatively stable compared to the prior year, the sharp decline in net international migration is the main reason for the slower growth rate we see today.”
The contrast is visible. Nationally, the slowdown was driven by a historic decline in net immigration, which fell by more than 50% year over year, leaving fewer new residents to fuel population growth.
Midwest Gets a Boost
The Midwest was the only region where all states gained population from July 2024 to July 2025, according to the Census Bureau. After experiencing population decline in 2021 and small growth in 2022, the Midwest’s population grew solidly in 2023 (259,938), 2024 (386,231), and 2025 (244,385). Slight gains in natural change (births minus deaths) for some of the states in the Midwest contributed to their population growth.
“From July 2024 through June 2025, the Midwest also saw positive net domestic migration for the first time this decade,” said Marc Perry, senior demographer at the Census Bureau. “And while the net domestic migration was a relatively modest 16,000, this is still a notable turnaround from the substantial domestic migration losses in 2021 and 2022 of -175,000 or greater.”
Fastest-Growing State
South Carolina’s population grew by 79,958 between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025. The 1.5% increase was the largest among states and was slightly lower than the 1.8% increase in 2024. Idaho (1.4%) and North Carolina (1.3%) followed closely, with growth also driven by gains in domestic migration. Texas (1.2%) grew rapidly from a combination of natural change and net international migration, despite a sharp slowdown in gains from the latter. Utah (1.0%) grew primarily from natural change, as net international migration — the largest contributor to its growth last year — slowed.
Overall Highlights, Crunching Immigration Numbers
The U.S. population grew by 1.8 million to reach 341.8 million between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025.
The growth rate was much slower between July 2024 and July 2025 than from 2023 to 2024, when it increased by 1.0%, or 3.2 million people.
- All four U.S regions saw population growth between July 2024 and July 2025, albeit at a slower rate than in recent years.
- The South saw population growth drop below 1.0% for the first time since 2021, from 1.4% growth between 2023 and 2024 to 0.9% growth between July 2024 and July 2025. The Northeast saw the largest decline in growth, from 0.8% growth between 2023 and 2024 to 0.2% between July 2024 to July 2025.
The slowdown is largely attributable to lower net international migration, the Census Bureau said.. Between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, net international migration was 1.3 million, a notable drop from 2.7 million the year before (a decline of 53.8%).
If current trends continue, net international migration is projected to be approximately 321,000 by July 2026, representing another decline of nearly 1 million since July 1, 2025. Details are available in the Random Samplings blog, New Population Estimates Show Historic Decline in Net International Migration.
Natural change for the nation neared 519,000 between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, roughly the same as the prior year. Although higher than the levels observed during the earlier pandemic this decade, this still represents a significant decline relative to prior decades. In 2017, natural change was about 1.1 million, and during the 2000-to-2010 decade, it ranged between 1.6 million and 1.9 million.
State Highlights
✓All but five U.S. states grew between July 2024 and July 2025. States that experienced population decline were California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, and West Virginia.
✓Births outnumbered deaths in 33 states and D.C. between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. The previous year was 32 states and D.C.
✓Thirty-one states had positive net domestic migration between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, up slightly from 27 states the prior year.
✓Lower net international migration from July 2024 through June 2025 than in the prior year, but the levels remained positive. Florida (178,674), Texas (167,475), California (109,278), and New York (95,634) had the highest levels of net international migration from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
Of note, the Census Bureau said, Florida’s net domestic migration (22,517 in 2025) was down sharply from 2023 (183,646) and 2022 (310,892). While Florida has often ranked at or near the top of the list of states for net domestic migration, in 2025 it ranked 8th. Neighboring Alabama (23,358) had a higher net domestic migration than Florida from July 2024 through June 2025.